Revenge of the nerds?

I attended the kick-off of the Phil Angelides for Governor campaign Tuesday night. The contrast between him and Schwarzenegger was striking. My first thought is that Angelides is a nerd. Apparently the Washington Post thought so too. But since I really like nerds, I was thrilled. I clapped, I whooped, and generally got excited at having a new governor in 2006.
And as Sasha has mentioned, there are cracks in Schwarzenegger's armor. His poll numbers are slipping. Nurses, teachers, and firefighters are chasing him around the state and he is on the run.
Others are joining the fray:

Inspired by what began as an isolated protest by California nurses, opponents of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are working in a loose but widening network to thwart his policy proposals.

They are deploying an aggressive blend of demonstrations, legal action and legislative maneuvers, forcing him to defend his agenda on multiple fronts.

Firefighters and nurses are protesting outside his fundraising events. Democratic lawyers are going to court in an effort to curb the campaign money he's taking in. Teachers unions are airing TV commercials accusing him of pushing an education budget that shortchanges students.

Democrats are launching legislative inquiries into the governor's activities with a hair-trigger reflex, using the investigative machinery under their control to probe Schwarzenegger's communications and fundraising methods.

We have him on the run now, but November 2006 is a long way away. But Angelides, like he has been doing for the last year and a half, will continue to hammer on him. There are clear differences between Schwarzenegger and Angelides so the fight will be real. And there seem to be a growing number of groups who are willing to work together to take on this fight.